4chan creator hands reins over to 2channel’s Hiroyuki Nishimura

Right before the internet entered a new millennia, Hiroyuki Nishimura launched 2channel, an online community website that would eventually change the face of otaku and internet culture in Japan. The simple layout and anonymity later went on to spark the creation of an English language version of the website, called 4chan, which would similarly impact the international online community as 2channel had in Japan.

In a curious turn of events according to a recent announcement by 4chan’s founder and former sole administrator, Nishimura has been named as the owner of the English spinoff community to his original creation.

4chan is an anonymous online forum created by Christopher Poole, nicknamed moot, in 2003. For almost 12 years, the community has provided a safe space for subculture fans to share information and connect with other users.

Even if you haven’t ever posted to the site, chances are your internet experience has been affected by it, considering 4chan is also responsible for many of the internet memes online users are familiar with today, like LOLcats, Rickrolling, and Rage Comics. Other humorous moments include the time when a made-up story of Justin Bieber appeared on the site and was re-posted by other social media outlets, which inspired a league of Bieber fans to shave their heads bald in order to show solidarity.

Despite the forum’s highly influential success, it wasn’t without multiple hurdles along the way. Upkeep costs racked up huge amounts of debt for Poole, and finding advertisers to support the site hasn’t always been easy due to some of the more questionable content posted by users.

Earlier this year on January 21, Poole made an announcement that he would be stepping down as the site’s administrator, and leaving responsibilities to a number of trustworthy 4chan volunteers.

Yesterday, exactly eight months later, Poole posted an update announcement informing the public that Hiroyuki Nishimura, the founder of 2channel, will be taking over ownership duties from here on out.

Though the announcement didn’t go into much detail about how the agreement was brokered, considering how the board was created as a direct result of Futaba Channel and its predecessor, 2channel, it looks like the community has finally come full circle.

At this point we’re not sure what kind of future plans has for 4chan, but considering the longevity of 2channel, we don’t doubt that the site is in good hands.